BOSTON  Last November, Yvette Chappell found herself increasingly anxious that her 27-year-old son, Deshawn James Chappell, was spiraling downward into deep psychosis. He was exhibiting intense paranoia and calling late at night to complain about deafening voices in his head.

Am sick and tired of reading story after story about these ticking time bombs going off and harming innocent people. Paranoid schizophrenics need to be locked up permanently. No more outpatient nonsense or giving them the "choice" as to whether to take their meds. We don't give rabid dogs such luxuries.

People lobbied to close mental hospitals saying that too many were incarcerated there and that they received little treatment while there and that they would have better quality of life ‘in the real world’ and that mental hospital abuses were too numerous. So basically it was for ‘humanitarian reasons.’ A friend of mine is a clinical psychologist. She said that it’s almost impossible to get the hospitals to hold a seriously ill patient for more than 12 hours and those rare individuals who somehow get into ‘the system’ usually receive no treatment other than tranquilizers in addition to their regular mood/stabilizer drugs while there. Then those lucky ones are released too soon.

Well in my oppinion this is a difficult topic.
Because is it fair to lock someone up for the rest of his/her life because he/she was once “insane” and there for not responsible for what he did?
Even at times where he/she is clearly stable now?
Of course on the other side potential victims have to be protected.
I guess there is no perfekt solution to this one.

- March 14, 2006: Charged with assault and battery and violating a restraining order in Chelsea for punching his stepfather in the face; charges dismissed in July 2006.

- Nov. 9, 2006: Charged with beating and robbing his girlfriend in Lynn; charges dismissed in April 2008.

- Nov. 13, 2006: Charged in Roxbury District Court with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and violating a restraining order; found guilty in April 2007 and sentenced to one year in jail, three months to serve.

- March 13, 2007: Charged with selling marijuana and a drug violation near a school or park; disposition unknown.

- March 3, 2008: Arrested for larceny for stealing $300 worth of baby curtains and linens from a Chelsea shop; pleaded guilty in February 2009 and put on probation for six months. Case dismissed on Nov. 12, 2009, when he paid restitution.

- June 30, 2008: Violated his probation, according to a judges ruling; probation terminated October 2008.

- Sept. 8, 2009: Barred from contacting a Chelsea woman, who accused him of threats and harassment, according to a restraining order issued by a Chelsea District Court judge.

- July 7, 2010: Arraigned for procuring alcohol for a minor in Somerville District Court. A guilty finding was entered Aug. 18.

Moulton was on duty and believed to be alone at the North Suffolk Mental Health Association residential program when prosecutors said she was killed by Chappell. Her body was later found dumped in a Lynn church parking lot.

The 27-year-old suspect has a rap sheet that includes arrests for robberies, drug and weapons violations and charges he beat up his girlfriend and his stepfather. Hes spent time in two state hospitals, as well as an inpatient program at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2007, court records show. There are several defaults and probation violations on his record. In 2007, he was busted for selling pot while out on bail for a prior assault. A judge revoked his bail on the assault case, calling him a danger with a history of offenses involving the use or threat of physical violence.

Because mental hospitals in the USA were every bit as abusive as they were in the USSR. Political gadflies were committed and then lobotomized in the USA, sick f*ck families like the Kennedy’s had their rebellious members lobotomized, mental patients were raped, beaten, and killed and they had absolutely no rights and no one to turn to in order to fight such abuse.

Despite decades of failed ‘reform’ efforts these abuses continued into the early 1970’s when the majority of these asylums were closed and their patients released to other forms of care or, sadly, some also sought the freedom of the streets.

These days the standard for involuntary committment to a mental hospital is extremely high and patients have access to legal counsel much the same way accused criminals do and this has put an end to much of the abuse. As bad as the current system may be, I’d not want to go back to what we used to have where sunzabit*hes like Joseph Kennedy could have his spirited daughter Kathleen lobotomized simply for the fact that he was powerful and she didn’t want to be controlled by him.

14
posted on 06/17/2011 3:16:07 PM PDT
by MeganC
(NO WAR FOR OIL! ........except when a Democrat's in charge.)

Sorry but IMHO this is NOT a difficult topic. Paranoid schizos have a serious and most often permanent condition. In all likelihood they won’t ever be “normal” as we view the term. They are dangerous and need to be in an environment that protects the general public. Again, we don’t let rabid dogs roam neighborhoods now do we?

15
posted on 06/17/2011 3:33:33 PM PDT
by KantianBurke
(Hey Tea Party folks - what about Social Security reform?)

Liberals watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and 'felt' all the crazy people were saner than the rest of us.

Liberals also felt they would save money and have more jobs for liberal social worker types. Those with mental problems became the 'homeless' and easy money for beatdown videos... and best - the 'homeless industry' started pulling in big bucks.

In short, it's been a horror - but liberals feel good about themselves - so in their minds it's a wash.

17
posted on 06/17/2011 3:40:45 PM PDT
by GOPJ
(In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act. - - Orwell)

Kennedys had their rebellious members lobotomized, mental patients were raped, beaten, and killed and they had absolutely no rights and no one to turn to in order to fight such abuse.

False dichotomy. The mental hospitals are not staffed by murderers and rapists. Mental treatment requires a range of options including commitment and that should be high on the list for someone who belongs there or in jail.

No, there is not........my best friend had a brother (he died last summer) who was diagnosed as schizophrenic back in the mid 80's who was initially "interned" at Michigan's state mental hospital on the ward for the criminally insane. His first week there, he was beaten so savagely that he almost died...........

Schizophrenia is an awful disease that in most cases can be controlled by medication allowing them to lead some sort of a normal life. Unfortunately, they often stop taking their meds and they immediately take off into their own world of psychosis........

My friend's brother developed a cancerous tumor on his leg and refused all medical treatment due to his mental condition. He then died of it...........

Dictionary size books have been written in response to your question. To summarize and condense in a severe manner - the reasons for the closures were threefold; thorazine, civil rights and ill advised closing of said state mental hospitals.

Up until the end of WWII, America’s answer to moderate - significant mental illness was institutionalization. The advent of drugs such as thorazine promised to “cure” the mentally ill and allow them to lead relatively normal lives (this was predicated on the patients taking their meds of course). Conservatives offered misguided support for the closing of budget busting mental hospitals which were then seen as antiquated against these wonder drugs. It was also reasoned that the hospitals would hurt more than help. With the drugs, the crazies could live normal lives - keeping them in insitutions wasted tax payer dollars and prevented perfectly able bodied citizens from working and paying taxes. Cheap group homes or in patient service centers were thus constructed to ensure that the mentally ill were able get their medications. All was for naught however as liberals discovered, and subsequently won in court, that the mentally ill have “special” rights. You a parent of an adult nutcase living in the street? Sorry - you can’t commit them. Its a “lifestyle” choice. Nutjob not interested in taking their meds? Sorry - they have a right to refuse treatment even if its supposed to prevent them from murdering children on their way to school.

20
posted on 06/17/2011 3:57:03 PM PDT
by KantianBurke
(Hey Tea Party folks - what about Social Security reform?)

As a side note, my friend’s brother was living alone on a beach in northern Michigan when winter was coming on. He had to petition the local judge, a personal friend, to issue an order to have him committed to the state hospital. It was indeed a very complicated procedure but was necessary in his brother’s case despite what happened to him while he was there............

Wow, that’s uncanny. A friend of mine has a brother with schizophrenia who was released from the mental hospital in Traverse City. For years, a social worker would find him a room to rent each spring. He’d live independently, usually not taking his medications, as a homeless person in the bad part of town. Late each fall, the social worker would “discover” he was living on the streets and have him committed during the cold winter months.

There is a happy ending to my story, though. Eventually he was found by someone who actually *wanted* to help him, not just shuffle paperwork for him and collect his SSI check. They found a nice home for him where people will make sure he takes his medication and keeps a regular schedule while having his own space.

I’m very sorry your friend wasn’t able to find the same kind of help for his brother.

22
posted on 06/17/2011 5:02:34 PM PDT
by FourPeas
("Maladjusted and wigging out is no way to go through life, son." -hg)

- March 14, 2006: Charged with assault and battery and violating a restraining order in Chelsea for punching his stepfather in the face; charges dismissed in July 2006.

- Nov. 9, 2006: Charged with beating and robbing his girlfriend in Lynn; charges dismissed in April 2008.

- Nov. 13, 2006: Charged in Roxbury District Court with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and violating a restraining order; found guilty in April 2007 and sentenced to one year in jail, three months to serve.

- March 13, 2007: Charged with selling marijuana and a drug violation near a school or park; disposition unknown.

- March 3, 2008: Arrested for larceny for stealing $300 worth of baby curtains and linens from a Chelsea shop; pleaded guilty in February 2009 and put on probation for six months. Case dismissed on Nov. 12, 2009, when he paid restitution.

- June 30, 2008: Violated his probation, according to a judges ruling; probation terminated October 2008.

- Sept. 8, 2009: Barred from contacting a Chelsea woman, who accused him of threats and harassment, according to a restraining order issued by a Chelsea District Court judge.

- July 7, 2010: Arraigned for procuring alcohol for a minor in Somerville District Court. A guilty finding was entered Aug. 18.

Source: Trial court documents

23
posted on 06/17/2011 5:07:37 PM PDT
by SWAMPSNIPER
(The Second Amendment, a matter of fact, not a matter of opinion)

Great comment. But that was not the only driving force. Several years ago commercial insurance carriers basic policy generally allocated approximately $25,000 per year for in-patient treatment. Some physicians would hospitalize patients and once their benefits were exhausted after a very short period of time, they would immediately discharge them with little follow-up because outpatient benefits were extremely limited. Flagrant misuse of Medicaid benefits, at least in Texas, were extensive and lots of kiddos were hospitalized for treatment of Oppositional Defiant Disorder for several days and then discharged, most with no visible improvement. A few doctors made a whole lot of money until this was shut down. I also remember many years ago that people who had issues such as mental retardation, Downs Syndrome or severe learning disabilities were shuttled off to state institutions where they remained, some for their entire life. There is relatively no easy, inexpensive or long term care for many people who suffer from such illnesses such as paranoid schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder.

24
posted on 06/17/2011 5:30:09 PM PDT
by Grams A
(The Sun will rise in the East in the morning and God is still on his throne.)

Im very sorry your friend wasnt able to find the same kind of help for his brother.

Actually he did. Following his release from Traverse, he was put on meds, was provided public housing in Boyne City as well as employment. However, over the years, he would slip off the meds and regress but eventually get put back on them by his social worker. This was a constant problem.......

It wasn't a happy story but it wasn't totally bad either until the last year of his life when he contracted cancer............

As a side note, my only real contact with the brother was when he showed up at my apartment here in S.E. Michigan on a Thursday afternoon after driving the almost 300 miles from Boyne City. He said he had an appointment the the French Consulate in Detroit the next morning to discuss an enhanced railway system from Detroit to northern michigan.......??????????

I immediately called up his brother who at that time was living down here too and he came over that evening to spend time........

The brother spent the night at my place and I had to go to work the next morning. When I got home, he had left for his home in northern Mich........

Dealing with a person with schizophrenia is unlike anything anyone can image if they've never experienced it. Especially if they are college degreed like my friend's brother was from U of M.........Their reality is in their own mind and you can't reason or rationalize with them at all......

There is a happy ending to my story, though. Eventually he was found by someone who actually *wanted* to help him, not just shuffle paperwork for him and collect his SSI check. They found a nice home for him where people will make sure he takes his medication and keeps a regular schedule while having his own space.

That *is* a happy ending!! :)

FWIW, Young Living produces a therapeutic essential oil (frankincense) that is recommended to aid schizophrenia; it's all natural. It works extremely well for uncontrollable-type outbursts/tantrums (I've seen it firsthand), so maybe it could at least ease the symptoms of schizophrenia somewhat anyway.

27
posted on 06/17/2011 6:16:56 PM PDT
by mlizzy
(Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ...)

I didn’t read the whole entire article, maybe about 2/3. But I have to say it was a pretty good article.

This is the second good article I’ve read from the Slimes posted here in the last few weeks. Could they be improving? Goodness I hope not!

From the parts I read it covered all the angles of the story fairly, and included some quite telling quotes.

That woman Moore sounds like an atrocity who is unwilling to accept her share of the blame for the negligent was her outfit was being run. I guess more of that will come out in the many various lawsuits.

I feel very bad for both families. I know what it is like to try and get help for a mentally ill relative. Basically the liberals have made it impossible.

And all you ever hear is how few of the mentally ill are violent, which is no doubt true.

But some, like this man, are manifestly violent (and for all one knows they might be just a violent if they were sane). These people need to be LOCKED UP. If it helps to medicate them, then medicate them, but for heaven’s sake they can’t just be running around. If it’s so very few people I don’t think the burden or expense is so great that it can’t be done.

Certainly nobody who need anti-psychotic meds should be in an unrestrained situation without the required medication.

“False dichotomy. The mental hospitals are not staffed by murderers and rapists.”

The word you’re missing is “anymore”. Just forty years ago, however, such abuses were unfortunately common enough that the mentally ill in many states were better off on the streets than in a state-run mental hospital.

Also, if you have so much faith in government-run mental health care then I bet you’ll just LOVE government-run healthcare in general.

30
posted on 06/20/2011 10:07:32 AM PDT
by MeganC
(NO WAR FOR OIL! ........except when a Democrat's in charge.)

Your opinion that all paranoid schizophrenics should be locked up with “no exception” is very extreme and is based on an irrational fear of people with schizophrenia which is no doubt the result of letting a handful of news reports you have read influence you in stereotyping a group that composes 1% of America and is for the most part, non violent. Violent impulses are not a symptom of schizophrenia and most schizophrenics are certainly not dangerous or “rabid dogs” roaming the neighborhood waiting to murder children. Your arguments are sensational and you are terribly misinformed.

While it is true that there is slightly higher chance of a schizophrenic committing a violent act as opposed to a normal person, that is mainly the case with the small percentage of schizophrenics who have a history of drug abuse or violent crime that predates the emergence of their disorder. Of course there are exceptions but studies have shown that the chance of most schizophrenics committing a violent act is around 8% as opposed to 5% with the general population. And since schizophrenics make up only 1% of the world population, a small number of which are institutionalized or in medical care, there is a significantly higher risk of you being harmed by a “normal” person and not a schizophrenic- and that is a fact.

As for your claim that paranoid schizophrenics are incapable of getting better- you should know that of all the different types of schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenics are more likely to become functional. Many schizophrenics lead very normal lives. I have paranoid schzophrenia and I have a very good job and can take care of myself. I am a fiercely loyal friend, a caring person and have a very clearly defined sense of ethics and morality, even when I suffer from symptoms. I am no “rabid dog” that is for sure- and I most certainly do not need to be locked up because some ignorant and prejudiced idiot on the Internet (read: you) thinks it’s a good idea to classify all people like me as a threat when the facts clearly show otherwise.

Considering the news story that started this thread and countless others, your protestations of schizos (read: YOU) being no threat to the rest of us is idiotic. You and your fellow nutcases are one reason many of us carry firearms and if threatened, trust me loony tune, we will use them to protect ourselves and our families.

“I have paranoid schzophrenia and I have a very good job and can take care of myself. I am a fiercely loyal friend, a caring person and have a very clearly defined sense of ethics and morality, even when I suffer from symptoms.”

What makes you think that I am a threat to you or your family? Why would you threaten me with violence when I haven’t done anything to warrant being threatened? If you took the time to learn about what you are afraid of maybe you would see that I am a person who deserves to be treated as fairly as anyone else. Just because I am schizophrenic doesn’t mean I go around trying to hurt other people. In fact, most of us don’t do anything of the sort and there is evidence to support that.

What if we were good friends and one day I confided in you that I was struggling with schizophrenia and was being treated but I was afraid of telling my friends because I was afraid they would push me away because of the misconceptions surrounding it? Would you never talk to me again? Would you be afraid everytime you saw me even if was still the same old person you knew? Would you tell your family to avoid me? Can you imagine what it’s like to experience that when you know you have done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve it?

First let's be clear - at no time did I threaten you with violence. I pointed out that I take protecting my family seriously and am armed. If confronted by a schizo who puts my wife or children in danger I will defend them.

As for why schizos are concern, here are two reasons that instantly come to mind:

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